Transformation Of The Week - MaryAnn Mayer.

At age 29 and a weight of 290 pounds, my breaking point was clothes shopping after I had my son and the only things they had in my size were pretty much wearable tents - not the young cute clothes I had hoped for. I broke down ...

I started my dieting by cutting out carbs. I wasn't really following a diet plan. I had heard of the Atkins diet but I also saw that the people on it usually gained back much of their weight plus some shortly after they went on it. I just cut mine in half.

In two months I had dropped 30 pounds. That fueled my determination even more. I continued with the diet by also cutting a lot of my fat intake, until I reached 198 pounds. Here I came to my first plateau and had to step things up a bit. So I added exercise.

What's A Plateau?A level of attainment or achievement in weight loss or bodybuilding where one gets "stuck in a rut," barring further progress or noticable results. As obvious as it may seem, if you continue to do the same thing, you will continue to get the same results. Click here for tips on breaking through plateaus.

I started out with doing aerobics tapes and eventually worked my way up to jogging 2 miles per day. I felt great but I had slowed down in losing my weight. At the time I didn't realize the concept behind muscle being heavier than fat and I wasn't taping myself so I didn't realize I was still losing inches.

I didn't know what to do and was getting frustrated. My husband suggested that I join the gym that just opened up in town. I always balked at joining a gym. I had this impression that everyone who goes to the gym is in perfect shape and I didn't want to stand out.

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The day I walked into New World Fitness changed my life forever. The owner, Jack O'Baker, was so nice and very helpful. He made me feel comfortable at once and we started his assessment of me. We figured out my body fat, explained about muscle vs. fat, talked about my diet and asked me what my goal was.

At the time I wanted to lose more weight and tone. At the end of our interview I was ready to go. He explained things to me I hadn't known about, such as how much to eat, how often and the good calories vs. bad calories. He set me up with a 4-day routine to tone my body and 20-30 minutes of cardio after the workouts.

My Results

Just going to the gym was exhilarating, and I was getting to where I would go 5-or-6 days per week instead of just 4. Then I started watching the bodybuilders and powerlifters and was intrigued by how they were molding their bodies to what they wanted.

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By the end of my first 6 weeks I wanted more. So when it came time to evaluate my progress, I told Jack I was interested in body building. We changed my workouts and my diet. To date I have lost 125 pounds and more than 65 inches total in three years. My next goal is to be ready for an amateur bodybuilding contest by next year.

My suggestion to others is not to give up and don't set your goals so high you can't reach them. I always kept my goals low and easy to reach so when I reached them, I was more motivated to reach the next one.

Keep a diary of what you eat and the calories you intake. This will help you see where your weak points are or when they are. (Mine was late-night snacking.) But don't beat yourself up for indulging just jump back into your diet the next day.

I always treated myself one day a week. The best motivator I think is to have someone take picture of you when you first start your diet then every two months after. Sometimes you really don't see the changes in yourself until you start comparing your pictures.

Whenever I was getting discouraged I would look at the pictures and it would always help keep me motivated. The most important thing is not to give up. I think the hardest part of losing the weight was changing my lifestyle and eating habits. It wasn't easy at all and there are no magic pills but it is worth every sacrificed piece of cake.

I alternate my protein between chicken, fish, turkey tenderloin and pork tenderloin and I drink at least a gallon of water per day. The asparagus works as a natural diuretic so I don't retain as much water and I limit my carbs after 6 p.m.